Sickies

Little Annalivia is sick this weekend. She went to bed on Friday night and shortly thereafter developed a barking cough which kept her and us up much of the night. I didn't notice that she was getting sick before that and I wonder whether I was just negligent or whether she really wasn't exhibiting symptoms. The kid is sick so rarely, I think I just wasn't paying attention.

Anyway, she is sick and Dennis is tired so he and the kids stayed home from church today. I went, of course, and then came home to have lunch and take a nap with Annalivia. Upon awaking, I realized I don't feel too great either.

And Daniel has been awfully fussy today, too. I am imagining that tomorrow might be a day to spend at the doctor's office.

In the meantime, Dennis is taking spectacular care of everyone. He let me sleep a little more and took Daniel on a little outing during Annalivia's nap and now has built Annalivia a fort using the couch pillows in the living room.

Feeling icky is not much fun, but I'm glad we have Dennis around. He's a good antidote to whatever ails us.

Yep.

Ignorance is bliss

Warning! HP spoilers ahead!!

Today is the fifth day since I finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows that I have picked up the book to read again some of the story and hear Rowling's powerful narrative of hope, faith, love and redemption. It has gripped me these last few days.

Tonight I remembered a silly article by Lev Grossman in Time titled, "Who Dies in Harry Potter? God." and looked it up to re-read it. It ticked me off then, but I tried to consider if fairly. I just couldn't get there, even after having read only the first six books. Now, after book seven, I wonder if he has any second thoughts about the analysis he applied in that article...

From that spot in the blogosphere, I managed to find far too many bloggers who are convinced that Harry Potter is a threat to Christendom. I am fairly certain that most of these folks have not actually read any of the previous HP books. They were, for the most part, doing an excellent job of quoting other people such as Mr. Grossman, and not actually any of the books or Rowling. And my guess is that most of these folks certainly have not read this last book. Uninformed though they may be, they are quite sure that a crystal gazing ball and the casting of spells and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah are the direct work of Satan.

Poor JK. I think she is owed one heck of a spectactular apology by the Christians who have been skewering her over the last 10 years. She won't get one, of course. But, thankfully, there are many evangelicals out there of a differing opinion who are speaking their appreciation for Harry openly. There's this relatively unknown guy named Rick Warren, for one. And then there's this great article from Christianity Today. An excerpt...

"When C.S. Lewis started out to write The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, he didn't have Christianity in mind. "Some people seem to think that I began by asking myself how I could say something abut Christianity to children; then fixed on the fairy tales as an instrument, then collect information about child psychology and decided what age group I'd write for; then drew up a list of basic Christian truths and hammered out 'allegories' to embody them," Lewis once wrote. "This is all pure moonshine. I couldn't write in that way at all."
"Everything began with images," Lewis continued. "A faun carrying an umbrella, a queen on a sled, a magnificent lion. At first there wasn't anything Christian about them. That element pushed itself in of its own accord."

It seems to me that where Christ wants to be presented, there's not a whole lot that can stop it. And it certainly makes sense to me that a book that sells 8.3 million copies the first day might be an ideal vehicle. And, obviously, to me, at least, He's there in this book. Pretty much everywhere. Which makes it very worth reading, by pretty much everyone. Me. You. Lev and friends, too.

No sympathy

Tonight as I was showering with one arm held over my head, wrapped in a plastic bag and feeling a little perturbed by the whole endless saga, I remembered how, right after the accident, I was talking to the insurance agent assigned to our case on the phone. He was asking me some questions and I was trying to rifle through papers to find the info, one-handed, of course. I apologized for the time it was taking and said something like, "It's hard to do this stuff with only one hand."

To which the lovely man replied, "I understand. I actually have only one arm, myself."

Rarin' to go

As I recall, when Annalivia was a baby, she awakened in stages. She went from sound asleep to slightly fitful to opening her eyes and then dozing in and out of consciousness. Finally, she'd rouse herself and be fully awake.

Daniel, on the other hand, seems to go from asleep to fully awake and ready to go. He just woke up from a nap (right his sister fell asleep, of course *sigh*). So I picked him up and tried to get him back to sleep. But he just popped up his head and grinned, stuck out his tongue, and blew a few raspberries while flapping his arms and legs.

I wish I woke up like that.

Recipe: Waffling about

Well, I have made a load of blueberry waffles and am posting the mix recipe I use for Liz. I hope it helps, Liz.
I adapted this from a recipe given at Saving Dinner. This one reflects my personal preference for a hearty pancake or waffle. It's not heavy, but is definitely not delicate. It's pretty forgiving if you'd like to play with it.

Waffle and Pancake Mix
8 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 cups coarser whole-wheat flour (I use Hodgson Mill stone-ground)
1/2 cup wheat germ
1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour (I use Montana Wheat Prairie Gold)
1/2 cup stone ground cornmeal
1 1/2 cups oat flour (or you can use oatmeal blended in the blender til powdery -- makes it a bit lighter)
2 cups buttermilk powder (I found this in the condensed/ dried milk section of Walmart)
5 tablespoons baking powder
2 tablespoons baking soda
1 cup sucanat or white or brown sugar
2 tablespoons salt

Mix all together. Makes 1 gallon. Store in freezer.

To make waffles or pancakes... Whisk together 1 cup water, 1/4 cup oil, 2 eggs and at least 2 teaspoons vanilla. Add 2 cups of mix and whisk til lumps are gone. If needed, add more water or mix. Can be halved or multiplied as necessary.

I folded in about 1 1/2 cups blueberries this morning. It made 12 waffles in my waffle-maker. I only remembered about 3/4 of the way through my batch that my waffle iron's ready light goes OFF when the waffles are ready as opposed to going ON. Once I got that figured out, the waffles were a whole lot prettier.
I spread the rest of mine out on a cooling rack and am going to freeze them individually. They can be toasted without thawing.
Have fun!

A beautiful day

We had a good day here in McStew-dom. It was a beautiful day -- about 83 at the highest and sunny with a lovely breeze. Just a near-perfect day, really.

Annalivia and Daniel and I were all up early, so we took advantage of our early rising and headed over to Clinton, IA to get groceries. Clinton is a nice 30 mile drive from us and, as I think I've mentioned before, it not only has a great grocery store with carts shaped like fire trucks, gas 30 cents cheaper than ours, and goat's milk at a much reduced price than we can find around here; it also has a drive thru coffee place that distributes punches on a card and after the 10th punch, the coffee drink is free. That is always our first stop in Clinton -- an iced latte for Mommy.

After that, we headed over to Target where I found TONS of clothes on clearance for $.98 - $1.98 each for both Annalivia and Daniel. I got Daniel a whole bunch of polo shirts in sizes all the way up to 5T figuring that he will wear them someday and if he only fits a size in the winter, he can wear them with a sweater over them, if necessary. I did the same thing before Easter at Walmart and got him a bunch of button-down oxfords and corduroy pants and blazers left over from Christmas. Of course, he has no 6-9 month clothes, but he's set once he moves into 2T.

When we got done at Target, we went to the grocery and got just a few things. Annalivia drove her fire truck and said "Hello," to pretty much anyone who looked at her or warned people to "Watch out!" as we were coming through. Every once in a while, someone would talk to her and get an explanation from her about how she had just gotten Dora underwear or that she was going to have a donut or that we were buying Daniel's milk. I like to let these conversations occur without much interpretation from me. Unless the target is a family member. It's more fun for me.

Since Annalivia had chosen to have great behavior at both places, we went to a park to eat our lunch. As we drove into the park, I was talking to my dad on the cell phone and Annalivia saw a bunch of kids playing on the equipment. She was yelling, "Hi, guys! I'm coming playing!" When I let her out of the van, I went to go get Daniel and turned around and Annalivia had run over to an enormous two-story spiral slide with a big sign on it that said, "Not for use by elementary children." She, of course, was climbing the stairs with kids behind her. So I didn't really hear the last part of the conversation with Dad because I was trying to figure out if she was going to make it or how in the heck I would rescue her, should she need it. She didn't. She slid down the slide with no fear and I caught her at the bottom and took her to the little kids' playground right next to the big slide. And she yelled at any children she saw to come and play with her. She's such a social child. I have no idea where she gets that! :)

Then we got back in the van and Annalivia fell asleep and Daniel woke up so I fed him and he and I went into a store together to use some merchandise credit to our advantage. Then when Annalivia woke up, we went to Walmart and got some more good deals on future clothes. Also, a 24-pack of Crayola crayons and a 2-stick package of Elmer's glue are 20 cents there! This is the time to stock up on Sunday School supplies, I guess.

So after that, we came home to drop off the groceries that had been in the cooler and since Daniel was still asleep, we went to Dixon to pick up The Message on cd that I ordered with my professional expense account from the local Christian bookstore. Which is not open on Mondays. So we went to my favorite bookstore, where I got another latte and Annalivia bought a Dora nighttime book and I ordered the Kathleen Norris Quotidian Mysteries book that I've been wanting to read.

We got home about 15 minutes before Dennis and Annalivia and I made some Eggplant Parmesan for dinner, which Dennis and I disliked, but Annalivia ate willingly. While it cooked, Annalivia and Dennis went out to his house to get pavers and after he bathed the kiddos, he dug a spot and set our grill on the pavers beside our deck. So now our deck has much more room on it. He's still out there doing miscellaneous projects now and Daniel has finally fallen asleep, so I'm going to do some picking up and take a shower and then try to read a bit. I've had plenty of espresso today, so I think I should be able to knock a couple chapters off of one of my many books. But maybe not.

Tomorrow my plan is to do a lot of baking early in the morning, since Dennis stopped to get eggs from his aunt today and I have all the necessary ingredients to make some whole grain baking mixes. I'm hoping to make some banana bread mixes, waffle/ pancake mix, and some zucchini bread mixes and then stick them in bags to be stored in the chest freezer. I also am hoping to make a whole bunch of blueberry waffles and freeze them and maybe some blueberry muffins, too. Blueberries were on sale this week. Can you tell?

And tomorrow, I think I'm going to start doing some intentional potty-training with Annalivia. She has some new Dora underwear and a Dora toilet seat (and a Dora outfit, for that matter), and she's very excited, so we're going to see how it goes.

So. That's our big day and there are our big plans. And now it's time to say, goodnight!

Something's gotta give

When we got married, my great-aunt and my father's cousin gave us a lovely set of bath towels, handtowels, and washcloths. They were beautiful, plush Egyptian cotton. After a few washings, they were exquisite and we enjoyed using them.

Then we had children and it seemed like the washcloths were constantly in the laundry. They began to be less plush and then slightly fraying and then the occasional hole appeared. Then it seemed like they never were entirely clean. Frequent launderings, color-safe or regular bleach or ammonia with the best laundry detergent didn't seem to make a difference.

So, the other day at Target, I picked up three packages of four washcloths each. Designed for dorm rooms, they are flat -- not at all plush or cushy, but rather are sparsely threaded with something akin to the plastic mesh bags in which oranges are sold instead of Egyptian cotton. Their best feature was their ridiculously low price and the possibility that they can be discarded sometime in the future when they wear out and smell funky.

And tonight when I used one, I realized that they are not only functional, but quite possibly, necessary. The threads scrape off the top layer of one's skin so much more quickly than our old washcloths and when trying to time a shower for how long a baby will sleep, it's actually a positive that exfoliation needs no additional surface pressure from the exfoliator. Just slap some soap on it and go.

And the resultant redness fades in an hour or so...

Potter!! Potter!! Potter!!

Well, I'm done and all I can say for the whole thing is HURRAH!! Great book. Great.

Without a doubt, my favorite line was delivered by Mary Weasley in the last pages of the book. Made me want to cheer out loud.

You know, I'm not even sad that the whole thing is over, it was so good. Hurrah for Harry Potter !

Now I think I'll get a little sleep.

Exactly 45 minutes from now...

...everyone will know what happens to Harry. I'm on my way to get my copy from my favorite bookstore in the next town. They are having a party tonight so I'm arriving in time to get my book and be on my way with hopes that no one reads the last page and aloud while waiting to pay. Boy, I hope they have the espresso machine running. Have a great weekend. I'll be reading.

Rain delayed

For the first time this week, it is not raining. And, more importantly, for the first time this week, a thunderstorm is not waking Annalivia up at an insane hour. Daniel and I are awake, but it is 7:30 and she's still snuggled into our bed.

It is a gorgeous day here. The sun is shining, the birds are singing and the air is blessedly cool. All of the windows are open and the fans are on, giving us a lovely little breeze in here.

Daniel is on the floor on his belly. He just got to his hands and knees and rocked a few times. I think that's the first time he's done that. This child is going to be crawling far too soon. Annalivia crawled right before her first birthday, as I recall. He's got things to do, apparently, and is not going to be satisfied with that schedule.

Cast-igated

One of the ongoing problems resulting from our September accident has been difficulty using our ankles that were sprained. Because they are lower extremity sprains, and really bad to begin with, they have been very slow to heal. What this means is that some days, it is very hard to walk or climb stairs or do much movement at all. It is further compounded when we favor the sore ankle and thus cause stress to the other foot or knees or even hips. (We're incredibly pitiful, can you tell?) And probably the biggest thing working against the healing of these joints is that we're, well -- no need to sugarcoat it -- massively huge individuals.

This has created a vicious process. The more we sit around, the more huge we get. The more huge we get, the more we sit around. Fun times.

This week, however, I had a glimmer of hope when a friend suggested to me that we get into water aerobics or swimming. I have never been able to do any sport in my life, but swimming -- well I was actually passable. And I love it.

So I checked into various programs and found that though our local Y is pretty expensive for a family membership, they offer a child care service during one of the water fitness classes and again at times when Dennis could swim. It would be worth it, if we'd use it.

I was excited. I was all ready to get us signed up this afternoon.

Until the glaring obstacle occured to me that anyone who has seen me in the past month or has read this blog would readily recognize. I have a huge, freakin' fiberglass cast on my arm! And that might, maybe, just a little, impede water activities like, oh, say... swimming, water aerobics or, as I experience every day... showering.

So. Setback. But at least there's an option for the future. That helps a little.

Higher expectations

I have been thinking a lot lately about the expectations we have or don't have for ourselves, our children, our family, our churches, and our society in general. Does it ever occur to anyone else out there that we are shortchanging ourselves in all of those areas?

I began thinking about this a couple of months ago when we took Annalivia and Daniel to their doctor for Annalivia's 2 year checkup and Daniel's 2 month check. It was about an hour past Annalivia's regular naptime and her behavior was, I thought, attrocious. She kept playing with the examining table, going through the diaper bag, running back and forth between me and the door... I was really very embarrassed.

At the end of the visit, our doctor told me that Annalivia was a very well-behaved child. I laughed out loud thinking that she was being sarcastic. She wasn't. It turns out that compared to most 2 year olds she sees, Annalivia's behavior was good. She was complimenting me on having an only partial-hellion on my hands.

In the past few months, well-meaning friends have attempted to comfort me regarding my parenting failures. One dear one asked, "Did you children eat today? Are they sitting in their own filth? Have any of them been beaten lately? No? You're doing fine."

In one way this beloved was correct. On most days, I am doing fine. The problem is, I don't want to settle for "fine". I want to do "well". I want do "faithful".

And frankly, I think that this is what my faith in Jesus is asking me to do. I personally think that, as Christians, we have settled for a lot of compromises in what we expect from ourselves and others in the name of Grace. It is not good enough to raise kids who don't rob the liquor store. It's not good enough to create a family that doesn't fall apart at some point. It's not good enough to pastor a church who doesn't spend over the budget or doesn't fight or doesn't do whatever it is that means a church is a failure. I think the life of a Christ-follower is to a higher calling than that.

And further, I think that we settle for lots because we don't want to feel a little icky about ourselves and our accomplishments or lack thereof. And we don't want others to feel uncomfortable about themselves and their accomplishments, or, ahem... the lack thereof. And I wonder if that's really the tactic we should take? I mean, please, please, please -- let's communicate that God always, always offers love and forgiveness to his children -- but let's also communicate that honoring God's work in our lives, claiming Christ as our Savior, means that we have to strive a little higher, work a little harder, be a little better than whatever it was we accepted from ourselves previously. (Yes, I said, "be a little better." I meant it.) I don't think that striving to attain high standards means we need to stand around spirtually, emotionally or physically flogging ourselves when we don't attain the prayed-for goal. In fact, we probably need to recognize that most of the time, we won't actually get where we are trying to head and at the same time continue to head in that direction as hard as we can.

I think it's time that we ask ourselves and others around us, in relationship and fellowship with us, for more. Yes, we cling to grace. Grace is the only thing that will allow us to do that which is beyond ourselves. And I really believe new life in Christ calls us beyond ourselves, and certainly beyond most standards expressed in the commons these days. We must press on, not in arrogance but in dependence on the love of Jesus to focus and sustain us. Probably all of this can be said much better here...

"So let's keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision - you'll see it yet! Now that we're on the right track, let's stay on it. Stick with me, friends. Keep track of those you see running this same course, headed for this same goal. There are many out there taking other paths, choosing other goals, and trying to get you to go along with them. I've warned you of them many times; sadly, I'm having to do it again. All they want is easy street. They hate Christ's Cross. But easy street is a dead-end street. Those who live there make
their bellies their gods; belches are their praise; all they can think of is their appetites. But there's far more to life for us. We're citizens of high heaven! We're waiting the arrival of the Savior, the Master, Jesus Christ, who will transform our earthy bodies into glorious bodies like his own. He'll make us beautiful and whole with the same powerful skill by which he is putting everything as it should be, under and around him."

Philippians 3: 15-21 from The Message

Ken Burns and the pulse of America

Has anyone else noticed an increase of information about WWII recently? I don't know whether it is just because I'm listening/looking for it, but I've been seeing and hearing a lot of interesting reflections lately.

Personally, my interest was piqued reading about Ken Burns' new documentary, The War. I had read that it was in the works and about the controversy about the lack of info included in the piece about Latino involvement in the war. Then a couple of weeks ago, I saw a preview after Masterpiece Theater's showing of Foyle's War, with one of my English celebrity boyfriends, Michael Kitchen. As much as I am enthralled by Michael Kitchen's portrayal of imagined WWII era events, I'm more excited to see The War. It looks like it will be a great program.

Today, I heard a really interesting program from a local NPR program featuring the oral histories of WWII vets in the Quad Cities area. Today I caught the program at an interview by an army nurse. It was just fascinating. I didn't want it to end, but the secondary interview was a guy responsible for transmitting the news that the Ludendorff Bridge was still intact to headquarters. Amazing stuff.

It reminded me about a member of my congregation, Smitty, who passed away a couple of years ago. In the War, he had been under Patton and drove a half-track tank. At some point, his unit came into a city that the Germans had abandoned and Smitty found an abandoned, broken German motorcycle which he fixed up. He had a great time zipping around on it until his commander asked to see him. The commander told him that he was not to drive the motorcycle anymore and that it was to be delivered to him by the next morning. Smitty knew that the commander just wanted the bike to be able to drive himself, but he also knew that he couldn't disobey the order.

So when the commander woke up the next morning, he found a German motorcycle outside his door. There was a problem with it though. It had been run over by a half-track.

Anyway, I'm glad Ken Burns is doing his documentary and glad that others are capturing these stories and glad that it is moving to the front of consciousness. If not the nations' consciousness, then at least mine. These are important stories. And they need to be told.

The kind of morning that should earn a mother medals

Today has been a very nice day, but at the beginning of it, I was quite sure that it was going to be a truly frightful Friday the 13th.
It started out with me going to bed entirely too late. Way, way, way too late - around 2 a.m. I used to be able to do that in the days of my youth. Uh... now... not so much.
It proceded with Annalivia waking up at 5:15 a.m. This, was, of course, entirely too early for her to wake up and she was traumatized. She stood in the hallway outside of her bedroom and yelped for me to come and get her some milk which her father had forgotten to put out for her on his way out the door. Since the parsonage is a ranch style house with the three bedrooms all situated within three feet of one another, this meant she was standing outside MY bedroom door yelling for me to help her get milk.
I got out of bed groggily, but quickly because Daniel had managed to sleep in his own bedroom in his own crib instead of the co-sleeper in our room for the entire evening. And since, as I mentioned, the ranch style parsonage has three bedrooms within three feet of each other, Annalivia standing and yelling outside her bedroom meant that not only was she also outside MY bedroom, but she was also outside Daniel's room.
So. I took her out to get milk in her sippy cup and found that all the sippy cups were in various stages of undress. Since my wrist is broken and casted, it has been up to Dennis to not only do laundry as per our premarital agreement, but also do dishes (my part of our premarital agreement) and since said ranch style parsonage does not have a dishwasher, this is a job of constant demand. He has also had to bathe the kids entirely himself and parent them into bed since I've been at Bible School all week. AND he's had to get up at 4 to be at work by 5:30 so that he can build up some extra hours to take care of me after my next surgery. Oh, and since it is Friday, he had to put out the trash and recycling. So, needless to say, the poor man was exhausted last night and went to bed without doing dishes and then was unable to do them in the morning.
All of which meant that I had to wash the sippy cup with one hand, which was excruciatingly slow for poor, sleep-deprived Annalivia. So she began weeping. Loudly.
When I produced the milk she was momentarily placated. Then I looked at the clock and figured out what time it was -- too darn early to be awake and told her she had to go back to bed. And because it was too darn early to be awake, she began weeping. Loudly.
I got her to sob quietly and we headed in to go to bed in my room. But she climbed in the bed a little too enthusiastically and bonked her head on the headboard and began weeping again. Loudly.
By this time Daniel was stirring so I had to get him out of the crib and bring him to bed and my momentary absence as I walked the 20 feet to Daniel's room to get him out of the crib was the final straw for Annalivia. She was inconsolable and in her grief, moved to my pillow and took my spot in the bed so when I came back in the room with her baby brother and found myself allotted about 10 inches of space in the king-sized bed, I asked her to scoot over. Which again broke her little heart.
So. By this time, Daniel was awake and crying. Annalivia was distraught and had managed to scoot over and give me about a foot of room. Then I laid down on the bed and her hand was under me and though I know she was not harmed, she was deeply disturbed and cried harder.
So there I lay between a weeping toddler pressed into my back and a crying infant in my arms. I sang to them both, got them calmed down and they both began to get sleepy.
Then the freezing cold sippy cup lodged itself into my back.
But I was SO tired and punky myself that I just let it stay there. And by the time we all woke up at 8:30, there was a big wet spot of milk in the bed. But we had slept and after a morning like today's, an excuse for clean sheets tonight is its own reward.

VBS and possible daquiris

We have been having a great time at Vacation Bible School this week. This is the first time my little church has done VBS for at least the last seven years, but I think it has been more like 10.

Sidenote -- it is hilarious to me that some folks talk about the last time that we did VBS as something that was just last year or so. I'm in my 7th year here and we've never done VBS. Church time just functions differently than the rest of the world, I guess.

Anyway, this year, we are doing VBS and it has been fun. Really fun. Tiring, of course, but great, not only for the kids who have come (which is up to 19 now, not counting mine -- a 1900% increase over worship attendance by children other than Annalivia and Daniel) but for the adults, also.

The funny thing is that our theme is water-centered and on a rotation model where the kids visit four different stations during the evening, so folks have been making jokes about how the adults will need to have a special margarita/ daquiri station the last night of Bible school after the kids go home. And now, there is an actual party in the planning.

I've enjoyed joking around with them, but I'm not sure whether I should go to the party. I am not opposed to drinking alcohol, I just don't do it anymore really. If I was a 40 year old pastor of a congregation, I might go and throw back a daquiri with my middle-aged congregants. But as the young girl who came here a little too recently-departed from college-frat-party age, I feel a little odd about it. Probably I will go for a bit, enjoy the frivolity sans fruity drink, and then leave them to their crazy fun without the pastoral presence to hem them in.

I don't know... I'm probably being too stuffy, aren't I? A few years ago (closer to the college-frat-party age), I wouldn't have thought twice about joining in. I'm such an old fuddy-duddy now.

Well, regardless, VBS has been great. I think we'll all be ready for it next year. And for us, that's what really deserves a celebration!

The magic corner

One of the bloggers who inspires me has a daughter who is the same age as Annalivia. She writes about the joys and challenges she experiences in her two-year-old at the same time, or shortly before, I get to experience them. She also has the advantage of having parented four other children through this age, so when she talks, I tend to listen closely.
From her, I got a technique for dealing with whining and fussing that has been SOOOOOOO incredibly helpful for us. Basically when Annalivia fusses or whines, I calmly and politely ask her to go stand in the corner and when she is quiet and can talk nicely, she can come out. This is the only behavior that illicits this consequence. The corner is in the living room near us, but not with us. The "corner" also travels -- at my parents' house it was a chair in the main room.
So far, she has been in the corner four or five times. The first few times produced a big fit. (My poor grandfather was subjected to one last week. He wanted to rescue her and I wouldn't let him. He said, "Well, a woman in tears..." What a sweetie.) I ignored her for the most part, though I did remind her that when she was quiet and could speak nicely, she could come out. When she quieted down, I invited her to come out and she came and got lots of hugs and kisses. The last few times when I've asked her to go to the corner, she has composed herself very quickly. She still collects on the hugs and kisses though.
Today, she sounded as though she was going to start whining a few times and I asked her very calmly and smilingly if she was fussing or whining. She immediately said no and asked politely for what she wanted.
That corner is magic, I tell you. We have gone from constant toddler fussing/ whining meltdowns to NONE. Zip. Zero. Zilch.
The magic corner. It might work for you, too.

My little tomato

So we've been using some parenting techniques lately that have made our lives much happier and when I say "our," I mean mine, Dennis', Annalivia's, and, I'm assuming, Daniel's. I learned of these techniques from some evangelical blog friends of mine. Have I mentioned before how gosh-dern grateful I am that the blogosphere can bring together so many voices from so many different places and experiences? It's truly miraculous, I think.

Anyhoo, prompted by the kind of relationship I saw developing in the lives of these families, we've begun doing some things differently. All of our changes derive from an attempt to be much more proactively attentive to Annalivia and head off a behavior problem in its infancy. Basically, I try to be plugged in to her most of the day and "tomato-stake" her. That term derives from the gardener's observation that a tomato that has been improperly supported may grow huge, but will not bear fruit consistently. In contrast, a tomato that has been properly staked can grow to its full potential and bear good fruit. In case you missed the analogy -- Annalivia: tomato / Mama: stake.

It's been a huge learning process for me. My instinct is to be pretty inattentive as a parent and therefore, be pretty reactionary. Which is just not helpful for any of us. In reactionary mode, Annalivia doesn't hear from Mama except when corrected. She also doesn't know of expectations before she encounters a situation.

The advantage to this tomato staking is that it first and foremost draws on the relationship between parent and child. If I'm celebrating her victories and interacting with her positively throughout the morning, it's easier to encourage good behaviors and she receives correction with much more grace. And lest I infer that it involves direction and intrusion into her play, it doesn't, really. Mostly, Daniel and I watch Annalivia and interact with her. When I need to do something like make lunch, I have her come with me and help.

I guess most of this is just common sense to some parents. For me, I have been resistant to this sort of attentiveness because it seemed as though it would be just exhausting. I finally did it just because I felt like God was giving me a kick in the rear about the whole thing; THIS is the work to which I've been called through the gift of my children right now. There's nothing more important. So, I am having to save church work and computer time and phone calling for nap time and bedtime.

The beautiful gift has been that it is NOT exhausting at all. In fact, it has been exhilarating in some ways. Being proactively involved with my daughter throughout the day requires so much less energy than reacting to her.

So. That's what we've been up to here and that's why posts have been on the slow side until they occur all at once. Parenting is the important stuff -- the meat and potatoes of my life right now. The rest is mostly frosting. :)

Menu plan Monday for the week of July 8-14

Three things are focusing my menu planning this week.

1. It's hot here.

2. It's Vacation Bible School week every evening at church. As pastor, I sort of have to be there.

3. It's hot here.

So, this week, for lunch, Annalivia and I will be having popcorn, cheese and apples one day and pasta salad for me/ pb&j for her, the next. All week. Dennis can take leftovers from this weekend for the next two days and then leftovers from the night before the other days. Snacks this week are going to be yogurt smoothie pops

For dinner -- it's SANDWICH WEEK!! Easy, tasty (most of the time), cold/ cooked outside, and did I mention -- easy?

Monday -- Egg salad or Turkey and Ham deli sandwiches, apples and salad.

Tuesday -- Grilled chicken, mushroom and onion with Muenster cheese on garlic ciabatta rolls, cantaloupe, salad

Wednesday -- Tuna salad sandwiches, crudites and dip, grapes

Thursday -- Hot Dogs from the grill, pretzels, watermelon

Friday -- Cheeseburgers from the grill, watermelon again, pretzels, and the rest of the salad

Saturday and Sunday, we may just lie about and groan. And eat sandwiches.

For legitimate menu help, see here.

Tidbits Meme

My friend, Heather, tagged me, so here are some random tidbits. In 5's.

Five Things I Was Doing Ten Years Ago...

1. Getting ready to leave Eureka to go to seminary
2. Crying about getting ready to leave Eureka to go to seminary
3. Preaching at New Bedford Christian Church for the summer
4. Not thinking about how I had no business preaching anywhere for the summer
5. Annoying my sistahs while home from college for the summer

Five Snacks I Enjoy...

1. Oil popped popcorn with just salt
2. Really crisp and cold apples
3. Colby cheese slices
4. Lindt extra dark chocolate truffles
5. Butter flavored pretzel braids

Five Songs I Know the Lyrics to...

1. Great is Thy Faithfulness (the processional hymn at our wedding)
2. Be Thou My Vision (sung at my ordination and wedding and Annalivia's infant dedication)
3. Amazing Grace
4. You're a Grand Old Flag
5. Theme Song to Kipper the Dog

Five Things I'd Do if I Were a Millionaire...

1. Give -- to my church and Eureka College and CARE International
2. Pay off all debt
3. Invest for retirement, children's educations, etc.
4. Quit my job and be a 100% at home wife/ mom
5. Buy a house that we love and can live in for a long time

Five Bad Habits...

1. Nervous eating
2. Total lack of exercise
3. Fingernail chewing
4. Blog over-checking
5. Rampant sarcasm

Five Things I'd Never Wear Again...

1. My wedding dress (I loved it, but, uh... what's the point?)
2. Sleeveless tops (because nobody wants to see that)
3. White socks and dark shoes
4. Pegged jeans (not even if they come back into style)
5. A cast in the middle of summer, if I had the option

Five Things I Like To Do...

1. Mother my children
2. Smooch on my husband
3. Cook good food
4. Hang out with friends
5. Obsess about complex and probably meaningless theological issues

Five Favorite Toys...

1. Baby dolls
2. Wood blocks and marble runs
3. Third-world toys like this
4. Nativity sets
5. Play kitchen sets

Five People I'm Tagging

1. Kalin, my sistah, whose answers will probably make me laugh til I cry
2. Jimmy, who blogs erratically, and this should be plenty easy to do
3. Joby, who needs something to do, I'm sure
4. Amalee, whose answers I mightn't fully understand but will be fascinating because she's one very cool chica
5. Tonya, because if she actually reads this blog I will faint. I kind of want to be her.

Four fabulous years

Four years ago today, I did the smartest thing I have ever done and promised before God to love Dennis Stewart for the rest of my life. I said, "Dennis, you are my beloved, my true love. Today I come to you to be your wife. All that I have and all that I am, I will gladly share with you. I promise to accept you for the person you have been, love you for the person you are and help you to grow into the person God wants you to be. All of these things I promise to you now and for the rest of our lives."

And I do, sweetheart.

I love you.

Thank you for four beautiful years.

Transformation of a backyard part 3

And as soon as the construction was finished, the playset was put into use even though the sandbox is not filled yet.

My niece Cleya enjoyed it.

And Annalivia is pretty excited about her "house."

And now the parsonage has a real backyard.

Transformation of a backyard part 2

Last week, my brother in law came up to help Dennis remove a huge blue spruce in the middle of the backyard. The white thing in the bottom right corner is the roofline of the neighbor's house, which helps illustrate how tall the tree was.

It was a kind of hot day, but Jake was wearing proper tree cutting clothing. He looks sort of like a catalog model, eh?

Especially in this shot.

And this one. Even when expressing disappointment over the chainsaw that didn't work, he looks like an ad for Gander Mountain.

Dennis on the other hand, uh... not so much. He doesn't dress the part, but he's got street cred. He took that sucker down with a sawzall.

The transformation of a backyard part 1

Last week while Gramps was here, Dennis started on the big project of putting together the playset we got for my birthday.

Dennis had some very capable helpers.

As soon as the swingset was up, Daniel and Annalivia took their first swing with Daddy.

Mr. Charmer

In which my mainline friends disown me

So last Sunday at FCC Rock Falls, we had a patriotic sing instead of the sermon. It was a full-fledged we-love-America-palooza with national hymns, secular songs both fun and more serious.

In preparing for this event, I talked to a couple of pastor friends and told them the plan. Their response was something like, "Are you serious?" or "Oh no..." I told them I had thought about ways to justify it theologically and that I didn't want to embarrass either them or me, so I'd not share the thoughts, but as I've been thinking about it more, I want to do so and then get feedback from anyone who is willing to talk about it.

I'll begin by saying that I believe that using the Bible to support national superiority is wrong. I don't want England or France to be reading the Psalms or Romans with that sort of interpretation, so I feel like the same should apply to us. But I am just not sure that any national celebration or recognition in the church is "wrong."

As I told my church before we sang had our America-fest, I think most of us are smart enough to realize that when we say that our country is blessed, we don't believe that others in their countries are less blessed. Most of us don't apply a belief of selective blessing to our families, do we? I mean, I believe the McStews are abundantly blessed by God, but I would never assume that meant that God does not bless the Jones family and the Razinskis and the Al-Shamas. When I say "God bless America", that is my heartfelt prayer -- that God will bless our country. It is not a prayer that God will not bless England or France or Iran or wherever.

And as for expressing gratitude for the blessing we have received and will receive as a nation in the setting of corporate worship in the church building, I frankly don't understand the idea that we shouldn't bring these realms together. If the church does not exist to speak to our everyday lives, including how we live as citizens of a country or members of a family (in the case of Mothers/ Fathers Day which also tends to be loathed by mainline pastors) or brothers and sisters in the realm of God, I guess I wonder -- why do we exist?

I have to admit, I was a person who, for many years of ministry, resisted all of the things I was supposed to resist as a mainline pastor -- patriotism, overt displays of Christian identification in marriage, child-rearing and family formation (more about that later), celebration or recognition of "secular" concerns...but I have to say -- I don't know why I did. I wasn't thinking critically nor was I praying about where God would have me lead. Now, I really believe I *am* thinking critically. And I most certainly am spending a lot of time in prayer and believe that God is leading me the direction of recognizing that being a Christian is about bringing faith to bear on absolutely all areas of life including our national identity.

So -- those of you who heartily disagree with anything I've said -- what has led you to your conclusions? I really honestly would like to know, because I think I've missed something. And if anyone can tell me what that is -- well, I'd sure appreciate it.

In the meantime -- God bless America. And happy Independence Day.

19 days to go...

Hope this, this, this and this will sustain your trip back to Hogwarts.

Encouraging report

Yesterday I went up to Rockford for a post op visit and to review the pathology report on the bone that Dr. K removed on Tuesday. Turns out that there was no infection in that sample! That could be perhaps because that particular sample was not infected, or it could be that the bone is not healing because of a "fibrous non-union" meaning that there is tissue impeding the bone growth.

Whatever it is, it meant that I was able to have the splint removed yesterday and I am now in a cast that allows movement of my fingers and elbow. This is a huge help because my fingers and hand were very swollen and painful. Being able to move them has reduced the swelling and it is almost back to normal. Further, the doc said that I can go ahead and pick up my children and that it would hurt, but I would not be doing any damage to it. So that is good, too.

The best news, though, is that I am to stay on my mega doses of antibiotics for at least two weeks and then I am to have another blood serum drawn. If things look good, it is possible that they could proceed with the bone graft in the next couple weeks as opposed to after a couple months of antibiotics. Which means this whole thing could be over sooner rather than later.

So. Obviously I can type and I'm pleased about that, though it is cumbersome and rather painful, so I probably won't do much of it. Knowing me, I'll save my finger energy for truly frivolous stuff rather than the bulletin and sermons and such.

The family is all doing well. I am so blessed to have a family who just arrives when needed. It's lovely.

Anyway, thanks for all of the well-wishes. I'll respond to y'all soon.

All is well

The surgery went fine. Now it hurts, but will get better.

Dad was here and has handed off to Gramps. Dad took Annalivia for long, long walk everyday. Gramps is playing with her in the basement. She's in heaven with these playmates.

It's hard to post, so I probably won't or will leave it to Dennis.

And here I was going to get the corkscrew

On the night before surgery, my supportive sistah, Kali, has delivered these words of encouragement...

Hey Apey,

Just wanted to let you know I'll be thinking of you tomorrow when you get your robo arm attached. Maybe if you got one with a bottle cap opener attachment, Marissa would be more likely to come home and visit us after she gets married. Just something to keep in mind.

Love, Kalin

Menu Plan Monday for the week of June 24

This week because of surgery on Tuesday for me, almost every main dish we will be eating will be from the freezer (denoted with*). My little church is unpredictable at best, when it comes to providing food to a pastor, so this is the plan and if food arrives, we can rearrange easily.

Monday -- Black Bean Burritos* (adapted from this recipe) with salsa, sour cream, avocado, and tomato; homemade Mango Yogurt Popcicles*

Tuesday-- classic Tuna Noodle Casserole*; Salad; Applesauce

Wednesday -- Sausage and Pepper Hoagies*; Salad; Cinnamon Apples (This is one of my dad's favorite sandwiches and since he is coming up to help post-op, I thought we'd have it. I cooked the sausage and the banana peppers and juice and then added the other peppers and onions, leaving them uncooked. All is frozen together so it will be easy to reheat and place on crusty ciabatta rolls.)

Thursday -- Lasagna*; Garlic Bread*; Salad; Oranges for dessert

Friday -- Olive Cheese Bread*; Italian Beans and Greens Soup* (recipe follows); Salad

Saturday -- lunch -- baked Macaroni and Cheese*; dinner -- Brats* on the grill

Sunday -- lunch after church -- Grammy's Meatloaf* (recipe follows) and baked potatoes; dinner -- Cheese Ravioli with Sauce*

Italian Beans and Greens Soup

olive oil

2-5 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion chopped

2 bunches endive, escarole, kale or spinach (though I prefer the bitter greens), chopped to whatever size you prefer

4 cups chicken broth

2 cans white beans (great northern or cannellini are good)

Saute garlic and onions in olive oil. Add greens and wilt. Add broth and beans. Heat through. If freezing, do not wilt greens much and don't heat broth and beans. FYI -- I think I adapted this from Rachel Ray

Grammy's Meatloaf

This is my favorite meatloaf. It is well-seasoned, but not overpowering and never, ever, ever dry. I usually make 2 or 3 at the same time and put the extras in freezer bags, pressed flat. This allows the meatloaf to defrost quickly. It can then be shaped and baked or put in the crockpot.

1.5 lbs ground beef or beef/turkey mix

1 envelope Lipton's onion soup mix

1/2 c ketchup

1 egg

1/2 sleeve saltine crackers, crushed in your hands (not finely crushed)

1/4-1/2 c. water

Leaving water out, mix all together with hands. Add water slowly to facilitate mixing til it is quite moist, but still holds shape. Freeze or form into loaf for baking. If married to Dennis Stewart, put ketchup only on top. If Grammy, mix ketchup and brown sugar for top and slice green peppers and onions very thinly to decorate the top. Cook uncovered, basting occasionally, until browned and delicious outside and moist and yummy (and done) inside about 45 minutes. Use a thermometer if necessary.

Click here for more great menu ideas.

The plan

So a woman with whom Dennis went to high school called his mother today to find out his new address so that he could be invited to his 20th reunion next year. His mother, being the nation's most stalwart privacy advocate, did not give out the information, but the whole episode led us to discuss how we were both having class reunions next year.

Me: You know, perhaps we should use this as the reason to go on a big diet and become fabulous.

Dennis: (pauses) Or.... (dramatic pause) if not, we should hire actors who can play us.

Imaginary Classmate to hired actor (voiced by Dennis): Dennis, you've changed a lot. I don't remember you being black...

There's just something about a capable man

Yesterday, Dennis finished putting up the poles for a chain link fence in the parsonage yard. He was going to stretch the chain link today, but since it's raining, he'll be getting that tomorrow.

Whenever Dennis launches into a project like this, I once again admire his abilities to do all things mechanical. And I mean-- ALL things. I don't think Dennis has ever met anything he can't do. Everyonceinawhile, he has to stop and think before proceeding, but most of the time, he just understands how things need to be done. And he understands every step that needs to be taken to get to the point of completion so that the job is done correctly. And he does it. Or, if he takes a shortcut, he takes it knowing fully the impact that it will have on the finished product.

I'm not sure where he gets this brilliance. He comes from generations of farmers and laborers. They built their own homes and wired their own electrics and fixed their own cars and tractors and combines and invented solutions to problems if the solution hadn't been invented yet.

This kind of thinking is completely impressive to me. My dad is a financial planner. His father, my Gramps, was the president of the bank. They do a different kind of processing in their daily lives. Gramps is pretty good at fixing and building and such, but it doesn't just roll off of him like it does Dennis. Dennis just knows. And he does. And whenever I see that, I just kind of swoon. Because there's just something about a capable man, y'know?

Crunch time

It is a lovely morning here in northern Illinois. It is softly raining and a little chilly out and all the windows are open so I can hear the birds who are singing loudly. And since it is raining and has been raining, I don't hear the Harleys that usually plague our town on a summer Saturday.

Dennis has taken the kids over to his brother's house to play with their Stewart cousins and see his other brother and his family. The other brother's family lives in Wisconsin and we've not seen them for a couple of months.

I am ducking out of festivities in favor of trying to get some work done before the surgery on Tuesday. I made a bunch of casseroles for the freezer last night and will make some burritos and lasagna and meatloaf to freeze today. I also am trying to start and finish bulletins for a month, since it has occurred to me that I won't be able to type. Again. So I'll need to get the liturgies written ahead of time and sermons in some sort of rough outline. And we are also trying to work on getting the house a bit more organized. We'd like our live-in help next week (i.e. Dad and Gramps) to be able to navigate the basement where the spare bed is without threat of bodily injury. Or at least, with minimal threat.

It has occurred to me that this is the kind of preparation one does before one has a baby. Only one usually has more than a week to do it. And one probably doesn't attempt to do it all. Unless that one is me.

So. Clearly, I should be doing something other than blogging, so I shall. Happy Saturday.

I'm addicted

And the first step to recovery is admitting that you have a problem.
I'm think I'm addicted to The Pioneer Woman. And her other blog, Pioneer Woman Cooks.
She is sort of who I want to be with half of my personality, especially if you could mix a little Vicar of Dibley in there too. The other half wants to be Ruth Bell Graham. That could be a fun party. And I suppose it explains a lot of about me.

Anyway. I have been enjoying her blog, and most of all, her photos. I'd highly recommend her photos to everyone and her blog to those who have a pretty evolved irreverent streak. Those who don't, I still love you. I just wouldn't invite you to this shindig.

Recipe: Old-fashioned uber-delicious cake

I got this recipe from an online friend. She titled it Grandmother's Autumn Cake, but since it's not my Grammy or Ga's recipe, I wouldn't feel right about using that title. And it's really seasonless. So. Here it is.

Old-fashioned uber-delicious cake
1 1/2 c oil
1 3/4 c sugar
3 eggs

combine and beat 3 min.

3 c. flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinn
2 tsp vanilla

Mix with above and fold in 3 cups (3-4 apples) chopped apples and 1 c. nuts (opt).

Pour into loaf pans or cake pans or whatever. Bake 1 hour on 350 (and this will look done far before that, but it won't be. Don't be fooled).

Buttermilk Icing
1 stick butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup buttermilk

Bring to full boil (you need a large saucepan for this...it doubles) and pour over hot cakes.

These ingredients can be easily interchanged by substituting honey, whole wheat flour, coconut oil or butter, etc. These cakes freeze and keep BEAUTIFULLY if you use the buttermilk icing. The author of the recipe said she took one out of the freezer a year later and heated it up and it still tasted fresh and delicious.

Where two or three are gathered...

Last night we had an elders' meeting at church. In our system, the elders are the actual leaders of the church. Technically, I'm just an ordained elder. I like elders' meetings. These are the spiritual leaders of the church and most of these men and women take that duty very seriously. They are mostly very wise, deliberate, and discerning.

At the end of every elders' meeting, I lead a prayer as we hold hands and then we all say the Lord's Prayer together. Because there are only 10 of us, and it's rare that all of us are actually there at the same time, we fit nicely around one of the round tables in our fellowship hall.

I have found that one of my favorite things about this time is listening for each individual voice as we are praying together. I hear Larry's strong bass and Kathy's mellow alto and Carl's gravely tenor. I hear Tim strong, but not overpowering and Edythe's slightly rushing and Alice and Sharon, quiet and low.

There is something to be said for common, memorized prayer. As a restoration movement who was founded on the idea of returning to the New Testament description of the church, this is our sole common prayer. But I understand why other sects have found such power in shared, memorized prayer. There is something about all of God's people speaking as one voice the words of the faith from their hearts that reminds me of the reason we are all Church together.

"For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am in the midst of them..." Mt. 18:20

Bone blues

We had an appointment at the orthopedic surgeon in Rockford today to discuss results of a nuclear medicine bone scan that I had last week. My ulnar bone is not healing and apparently shows signs of infection. SO... on Tuesday of next week, June 26, I will be going to Rockford Memorial for surgery. They will open up the wrist again and remove the $25,000 of hardware in there now and then put little antibiotic beads between the bone (oh -- and scrape out all the infection --ick). Then they'll sew me up, splint my wrist, and the plan is that I'll get to go home that evening. They are then going to give me two very strong oral antibiotics which will hopefully knock out any remaining infection. I'll have an appointment about 72 hours after the surgery and they will put on a cast, I think. Then 6-8 weeks from now, I'll have another surgery where they will do a bone graft and put in new $25,000 titanium plates. And another splint. Then another cast.

Fun times. The State Farm insurance used by the chica who hit us is SO going to pay for this.

Anyway, I am anxious to get this whole thing done with already. I am tired of my wrist hurting and tired of not being able to settle with the insurance company and tired of driving to Rockford to wait for hours to be able to talk to my very competent, though humorless doctor (when I jokingly inquired as to whether it was possible that I could get a hook out of this, he said, "No, no! You'll keep your hand!" Um, yeah, thanks. Hadn't figured that out, Dr. K.)

I'm not so much nervous about the surgery as the splint. It will go over my elbow and hold my wrist so that it cannot rotate. After surgery, it was impossible to pick up Annalivia and I don't know how in the world I'd be able to hold Daniel, but I'm sure I'll figure something out. And showering with a bag for the next 3 months doesn't sound fun, either. But I guess it has to be done.

So. There's the update. More later.

Mr. Loudon Wainwright

I don't think I've gushed here about how much I like the voice, style, etc. of Loudon Wainwright. I found him when I was in seminary and the cool NPR station at the University of Kentucky (WUKY) converted to "adult rock" programming in the afternoon. It was basically like listening to a daily music sampler of somewhat obscure music. From them, I met Paul Kelly and The Kings of Leon and KT Tunstall and Mason Jennings and Badly Drawn Boy. They mixed this with Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan and the Beatles and Colin Hay and Marianne Faithfull and to this day, I try to listen to their afternoon programming via the web whenever the children are taking naps and I remember to do so. (For some reason this music doesn't seem to work with awake children for me.)

Anyway, I met Loudon there and loved his music. And tonight I heard a new song, "Daughter" on World Cafe and realized that I'd like to get his new album, however, it's written for the new movie Knocked Up and there's something about owning "music inspired by the film 'Knocked Up'" that bugs me. I know, I know. I pre-judge. I'm like that. But if someone else in the family wanted to get it and burn me a copy and just write the name of the album on the cd with a Sharpie -- that I'd be ok with.

And fyi, the voice of Rufus Wainwright (L's son) drives me nuts.

More milestones and the haunting wisdom of Amalee

Tonight we managed to catch Daniel rolling over. We've known that he is able to do it, we just haven't seen it before. He always seems to roll over in his crib or on the floor when we are out of the room. Sneaky lad, but we caught him this time.
And tonight Annalivia had a showdown with us at the dinner table. I'm happy to report we won. It was a full-blown temper tantrum with all stops pulled out. Dennis and I remained calm and firm and also loving and a little funny. We were pretty pleased with ourselves.
All of this to say -- a couple months ago, Amalee posted this reflection and it has been running through my head constantly since then. On one of the blogs I enjoy, a commenter reminded other mothers of toddlers that "the days are long, but the years are fleeting."

These women are so very right. Time has moved so quickly already. May God make me aware of the brevity of these moments and make me truly grateful for every single one.

Menu Plan Monday for the week of June 17

So as part of my small goals toward more peaceful living, I am creating a weekly menu plan. I am trying to do this on Sunday evenings because I've decided to take Mondays as our errand day when we will be running over to Clinton, IA where gas is 30 cents cheaper per gallon, the grocery store is large and has carts shaped like trucks thereby entertaining Annalivia, and the goat's milk we use for Daniel's formula is two dollars cheaper. Plus I get to get out of town and they have a drive through espresso hut over there where I can get an iced latte. And a Target. So we all end up pretty happy.

Anyway -- I found a link to the Organizational Junkie's Menu Plan Mondays on one of my blog jogs (the only kind of jogging I'm apt to ever do) and decided to participate this week. If you click here, you can find a list of lots of participants and lots of good ideas.

So here is our menu plan, fully realizing that usually these things don't work out quite like this because we get too many leftovers piled up. I'm trying to be bettter about planning that, though, so hopefully this week we won't make too many adjustments.

These menus reflect a.) mainly what is already in our freezer or pantry, in terms of main ingredients b.) the desire to use the grill or crockpot rather than the oven because it is so bloody hot and humid right now. FYI -- the pastas are whole grain, and since apples are on sale this week, we'll be eating lots of those with everything.

Mon -- Grilled Talapia Filets with Lemon Garlic Sauce, grilled zucchini, apples. -- Grill fish. Saute garlic in butter. Add lemon juice, little frozen pesto (about 1/2 teaspoon) and reduce a bit. Pour over grilled fish.

Tues-- BBQ Pork Sandwiches, crudites and dip, apples -- the pork is in the freezer from a pork shoulder roast I got on reduced sale and cooked in my pressure cooker a couple weeks ago. I'll put it in the crockpot with some BBQ sauce and let it defrost and heat while we are at the doctor's in Rockford. I have meetings at church on Tues., so even if I don't get back in time to eat supper, Dennis can handle this easily.

Wed -- Cheesy Broccoli and Alfredo Calzones, apples -- an attempt to use some leftover ingredients based on this recipe, though substituting alfredo for marinara sauce, obviously, and using whole wheat for the flour. If we have too many leftovers of the above foods, I will just cook this and put it in the freezer for later.

Thurs -- Chicken in Foil Packets on the grill, and Apple Skewers. This is a Dennis request, so we'll use whatever veggies he'd like and do the classic foil packet dinner.

Fri -- Homemade Mac and Cheese, sweet peas, apples. Hopefully this will be in the crockpot.

Sat -- Spaghetti with Bolognese sauce and salad. And apples.

Dreams fulfilled

Once upon a time, not too very long ago, I bought a little flower sprinkler in Target one year before I even met Dennis. I thought it was adorable so I got it though I had no need. I was working constantly at the church, living alone in this parsonage, praying and imagining that perhaps one day I would have beautiful children who would play in such a sprinkler, but also quite sure that would never actually happen.I also prayed, prayed, prayed with all of my heart for someone who would love me and cherish me who I could trust and who was capable and intelligent and clever and kind and would be a wonderful husband and would also be a wonderful father. But I was quite certain that person would never actually arrive, let alone blow bubbles for our daughter on a day when he was trying to get work on a car finished. When I was little, about 5 or maybe 6, I had a beautiful porcelain doll. Marissa had a matching doll that was slightly different. They had orange-flowered dresses and I thought they were just hauntingly beautiful. Mine had medium brown hair and big brown eyes and little bangs cut straight across her forehead. I used to pray to God that one day I'd have a daughter who looked exactly like this doll. And when I was out of college I found a precious advertisement for flooring of all things that featured a little reddish-blond haired, blue-eyed little boy and I tore it out of the magazine and carried it with me because it spoke to me so strongly.
Now, I know that God is not in the business of wish fulfillment. And I would hate to suggest to others who have hoped and prayed far more deeply than I could ever imagine that the Lord has ignored their requests and granted mine. I just want to mention that my heart feels very, very full of blessing today. So many of my dreams are real. And I am so very thankful.

Perhaps stranger things have happened

Or maybe not. Read this. Watch your back.

Hilarity ensues

So tonight I went down to Peoria to hang out with my sistahs. We met at Kelleher's a faux-Irish pub that we always go to and, upon observing the 20-somethings engaging in their prairie chicken dances, decided to go elsewhere. So we went to a cool Cajun restaurant that Lil and Kalin have previously enjoyed and ate good, if perhaps slightly overpriced, food, had water dropped upon us (well, on Roo, anyway) by the waiter with whom Kalin and Lil went to school, planned Roo's wedding reception, or at least got her to give us license to plan it, and laughed so much that my stomach hurt. Good times, good times. I've got some very, very cool sistahs. I'm sure I've said that before, but it bears repeating. They are just plain cool.

They are also not exactly punctual (which is an inherited McClure girl malaise we all share), so while I was waiting for them to get to Kelleher's, I listened to this hilarious interview (edited to add -- if you don't have time to listen to the whole interview, try starting about 13:15 into the interview) with the guys who are in a new HBO series, Flight of the Conchords and laughed til I cried. Since we get exactly 4.8 channels via cable (PBS comes and goes at will), I will have to wait for the dvd's. But if the interview is any indication of the show's cleverness, it will be worth the wait.

She cooks, she cleans, she quilts! (but not really)

I am making a concerted effort to be more dilligent in the mother/ wife/ co-keeper of the home areas of my life. I've not yet arrived where I'd like to be in my progress, but I am progressing. Slowly. Incrementally. Perhaps microscopically. But progressing.
Anyway, I have some little goals which may seem just ridiculously little to some of you. Some people are just really, really good at juggling all areas of life. Me... um, not so much without a whole lot of thought and effort.
So... here are my plans.

1. Try eating out only one meal per week. To that end, I've realized we need

- a menu plan of fresh, healthy food

- foods that are easy to throw together quickly

- a well-stocked freezer and pantry

- a list of what is in said freezer and pantry

2. Keep the house liveable. For us that means

- Make beds

- Put away toys before naps and bed

- Keep the table mostly clear

- Keep the dishes washed

- Keep the laundry pile low

- Keep the kitchen floor swept

Bonus points for...

- Putting the dishes away

- Putting laundry away

3. Do something creative that is largely unrelated to church such as...

- Blog

- Garden

- Paint

- Make a collage I've had in my head for 5 years

- Quilt -- I actually took a quilting class for the first time last night and have another a week from Saturday. I'm excited to use my grandmother's Singer sewing machine that she gave to me to sell, but that I'm going to keep because it is going to be perfect for me in my life as a quilting Bee.

So that's it. Small things that make a big difference. I'll let y'all know how it goes.

More interpreted than interpretive

The kids and I went down to Eureka on Sunday, not for any real reason other than to spend time with the family. It seems as though we just didn't see them much during the fall, winter and spring. And now we need to rectify that.

It was a good visit. We got to spend time with Mom and Dad and Kalin and Lil and her family. And we also got in a good visit to Grammy and Pa. They were excited to get Daniel down on the floor and Annalivia was excited to get Gramps down to his basement where many toys are kept and where her greatgrandfather runs a fascinating play area with such things as a manual typewriter. She loves it.

One of the highlights of the trip for me was getting to see Kalin's Strawberry Scones dance. I had promised to bring her some scones if she offered something in exchange. The dance began with toes pointed inward and was not only pointy and crumbly, but also flaky. It also had narration, so it was less interpretive than interpreted, but I appreciated it just the same.

Once again, Eureka offers good times for the heart, soul, and avant garde artistic sensibilities.

Recipe: Really good strawberry scones

I was reading a Family Fun magazine at a doctor's office last week and saw this recipe for strawberry scones. They looked delicious, so I made some up today and am pleased to report that they are indeed delicious! Annalivia helped to dump the stuff in the bowl, mix it with a fork, brush milk on the top and sprinkle sugar on them.
Here are my revisions. You can find the original recipe here.

Strawberry scones
1 cup finely diced fresh strawberries
1 cup white flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/3 cup sugar, plus a little for sprinkling
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
A lemon, for zest
8 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1. Heat your oven to 425°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper, using a few spots of butter or cooking oil to stick it in place. Set the baking sheet aside.

2. Place the diced strawberries on several sheets of paper towel to absorb their juice. Meanwhile, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Zest lemon into the ingredients, taking care to remove just the outermost skin and not the white pith.

3. Cut in the butter until the flour-coated pieces are the size of peas. Add the strawberries, tossing them gently with a fork to coat them.

4. Make a well in the mixture. Blend the 1/2 cup of cream and vanilla extract in a measuring cup and pour them into the well. Using as few strokes as possible, gently stir the dough until it forms a ball. Let the dough sit for 1 minute.

5. Clean and flour your hands and dust your work surface with flour. Place the dough on the floured surface and knead it gently three or four times. Transfer it to the large baking sheet and pat it into an 8-inch circle. Cut into 8 wedges. Use a small spatula or pie server to carefully separate the pieces, leaving at least an inch between them.

6. Brush the tops of the scones with the remaining tablespoon of milk, then sprinkle the surfaces with sugar. Bake the scones until the outsides are crusty and starting to brown, about 18 minutes. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then slide the parchment and the scones onto a wire rack to cool for another 20 minutes before serving.

Backing up blogger

So I decided to answer my own question about backing up blogger and looked for info on how to do it. It seemed way too complicated, so I just did these things.

1. Went under Settings to Formatting and changed the number of posts displayed to 500. This displayed all of the posts on the main page.
2. Went to the Page settings in Explorer to View Source.
3. Saved the Source in a Word Perfect file.
4. Opened it in Word Perfect.

It's not a perfect representation of the blog, but certainly good enough that if it were lost, we would have a backup. It imported all the pictures, too. Hope it helps someone else, too!

First haircut

Daniel got his first haircut tonight. It was necessitated by the weird mohawk/ mullet combination he had cultivated over the last four months. It was giving his head an odd flattened look. And rather than wait for it to grow out, since I am one of God's most impatient creatures (second only, perhaps, to Annalivia) I decided it needed to be cut.

So Dennis got out the clippers and gave Daniel his first buzzcut. Which makes him look even more like a little Stewart. I should have cut off a lock and kept it for the scrapbook before we started knowing that eventually Dennis would see the wisdom of my suggestion to just cut it to its determined length all at once, but didn't. So though I was saddened by the sweet little pile of soft and dark baby hair and this milestone that indicates he's growing up, I did not do anything other than flush it down the toilet. And post this on the blog.

Illustrated synopsis

Edited to note: Blogger has changed the saving procedure and for some reason it is throwing me off! I keep saving drafts and then forgetting to publish them! Oops!

So the last few weeks have been pretty busy around here. We went down to Eureka on Memorial Day weekend and stopped at a park so Annalivia could play on the way down.We had a great time with our friends Joby and Trina and their son Ethan. We stayed at Trina's parents' house while they were away and then went to my sister Lil's house for breakfast and the Memorial Day parade. The breakfast was wonderful and the fellowship was just spectacular. Annalivia and Ethan chased each other around and Dad introduced Daniel to prolonged leaf-gazing. The parade, which is my favorite of all parades, was very sweet in its brevity. This last weekend was the tribute dinner for my college voice professor. I was in charge of the event and was very worried about it, but it went perfectly and was just a wonderful evening. We laughed, we cried -- it was better than CATS. And speaking of cats, my friend Todd, whom I had not seen for 5 years, and I reprised the Rossini cat duet that we sang for our junior recital. It was great.

The following day was the Eureka College alumni weekend celebration, which I managed to skip out on and got to see my friends Remy and Sarah. It was so good to see Sarah, whom I hadn't seen in a good 3 years. She had never met Annalivia or Daniel. It was nice to spend time together, though far too brief.

When we got home on Sat. evening, I laid down with Daniel at 7:30 p.m. and then slept for the next 11 1/2 hours. It was nice. I probably could have slept for many more. When I got up, we went to church and my sermon went well. We had coffee and treats fellowship after church, which was great, and then we did lots of other errands with the loads of time we have now that are on the summer schedule of having church at 9 a.m.

When Annalivia and Daniel awoke from naps, Annalivia and I took our babies for a walk up and down our street while we waited for Daddy to get home.

These days have been so full. Full, but good. Thanks for sharing them with us.

Table prayers

We have been singing The Doxology at our table for the last few months as our grace. It is a nice way to thank God for our food and it teaches Annalivia a song she hears in church also. So far, she only joins in with the words, "host," "ghost", and "Amen."

I was reading one of my little books on table prayers at church today and thought that perhaps we should branch out a little. I remember reading L'Engle's books about the Austins and O'Keefes and their table prayers that were hymns or canons or writings by the great spiritual thinkers of the faith. I thought that perhaps my family would be like this. Not so much. We're doing good to keep little fingers out of the macaroni until the end of a 16 measure song.

Before Dennis and I got married, I wrote a prayer that I hoped we could use as our family table prayer. It proved too long for him back then. It's still a hope that we might incorporate it someday, but for now it remains in my head awaiting use. I bring it out sometimes for funeral lunches at church. It's a little easier to keep fingers out of the macaroni there.

All that we have,
all that we are,
all is a gift.

All is from you, God,
all is to you, God,
for it's by your grace that we live.